A day rarely goes by where I don't listen to a podcast or two.

I listen to them as I'm getting ready for the day, when I'm cleaning, when I'm having a slow and quiet morning, when I'm travelling, when I'm walking somewhere - any chance I get, I'm diving into my podcast feed and enjoying the awesome content that's ready and waiting for me.

Today I want to share with you some of my favourite episodes that I listened to last month - some were brand new episodes, others are old episodes I just discovered or that I decided to listen to again. Hopefully on this list will be something that will entertain, inform, encourage, and inspire you too!

1. What Gender Reveal Parties Reveal About Us on Stuff Mom Never Told You

Stuff Mom Never Told You is one of my favourite shows, its hosts Emilie and Bridget have really smart, research-driven, and interesting conversations about the challenges that women are facing today and that women have faced throughout history too. This episode, diving into the trend of gender reveal parties, was super interesting and explored the many complications that can come with focusing so strongly on a baby's gender before they are born.

2. Keeping Perspective with Alexandra Franzen on Being Boss

Alexandra Franzen is one of my favourite writers on the internet, and I was so excited when I saw that she was a guest on the Being Boss podcast last month. She dives into how to stay motivated when you're self employed, learning from criticism and disappointment, why she decided to quit social media, getting to a place where you feel confident and secure in your business, and more. I love Alex's approach to business and life and I think this is an awesome episode for anyone and everyone who is their own boss.

3. Jake Gyllenhaal on Stronger on The Hollywood Reporter Awards Chatter

I found this interview with Jake Gyllenhaal so interesting - hearing him talk through his career so far, and the sincerity behind his passion for his latest film, Stronger, which is a biopic about Jeff Bauman who is a survivor of the Boston Marathon bombing who had both of his legs amputated above the knee, was so refreshing. Listening to conversations and roundtables with actors, directors, and screenwriters is one of my favourite not-so-guilty guilty pleasures, and this was one of my favourites that I tuned into last month.

4. The Urge To Compare Money on The Fairer Cents

I love this podcast. Its hosts, Tanya and Kara, have such honest, important, and feminist conversations around money and this episode on comparing our money situation to other peoples was so interesting. It's a trap so many of us can fall into - and sometimes there's a danger of comparing ourselves to something that isn't actually the whole truth - and what I love most about this show is that they invite guests on each episode with different perspectives and experiences which really helps to highlight the different issues and struggles that can arise when it comes to navigating our financial life.

5. Cutting The Financial Cord on Dear Sugar

Another episode on money - this time from one of my favourite ever podcasts, Dear Sugar with Cheryl Strayed and Steve Almond. This episode is all about cutting the financial cord and explores two different perspectives - a young woman whose parents are using supporting her financially as a way to control her life, and a father who wants to refuse to financially support his son if he doesn't have the relationship with him that he wants him to have. As always, Cheryl and Steve tackle the subject with so much compassion, grace, and a little bit of necessary tough love too, and their guest for this episode - Dr Kate Gale - brings a really awesome perspective as someone who has cut the financial cord with her own children too.

6. Melissa A. Fabello on Body Acceptance, Thin Privilege, And Feminism on Real Talk Radio

If you're not already listening to Real Talk Radio, I really recommend checking out the show. Nicole Antoinette hosts such beautiful, honest, and human conversations and I'm always so excited when a new season is published. This episode with Melissa A. Fabello all about feminism, thin privilege, and body acceptance was so interesting - I especially loved Melissa's thoughts on why feminism should be about liberation more than it should be about just reaching equality.

7. How To Be Creative Like A Motherf*cker with Cheryl Strayed on The Tim Ferris Show

I'm not a regular listener of The Tim Ferris Show, but when I saw that there was an episode from his archives with Cheryl Strayed I downloaded it straight away and proceeded to adore every single second of it. Cheryl Strayed is probably my favourite writer - I recommend Tiny Beautiful Things more than I do any other book - and hearing her talk about creativity, handling hard emotions, and her creative process on this episode was awesome. If you're a big fan of Cheryl Strayed's, I think you'll love this episode as much as I did.

8. Jami Attenberg on All Grown Up on The Public Library Podcast

All Grown Up by Jami Attenberg was one of my favourite reads of 2017 - the structure and style was so different to many of the other books that I read last year, and I'm a sucker for anything where the writer refuses to make the character likeable and instead gives us an honest portrayal of a flawed human who is figuring their life out like the rest of us are. It was so interesting hearing Jami talk more about the book and her process in this episode, and I now have her previous books Saint Mazie and The Middlesteins sitting on my bookshelf waiting to be read very soon too.

9. Viola Davis on Fences on Variety's Playback

I could listen to Viola Davis talk for hours. She has such an incredible presence, and in my humble opinion I think she's one of the best actors of her generation, and when I saw that there was an episode in Variety's archives with her I had to listen straight away. If you're a fan of Fences, or just her work in general, this is an awesome episode to listen to.

10. Brené Brown on Big Strong Magic on Magic Lessons

Last but not least, this is an episode I re-listened to last month as I was in the need of a little creative pep talk and encouragement and I knew this would do the trick. Brené Brown and Elizabeth Gilbert talk about why creativity is essential for a healthy and wholehearted life, why we have to be kind to ourselves in the process, and they explore the things that may get in the way and hold us back as we're bringing our creative work to life. I know I'll return back to this time and time again and I think I could happily listen to them both talk about creative living together for hours.

What about you? What podcast episodes have been your favourite to listen to recently?

As always, I'm rooting for you!

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10 Podcast Episodes I Loved Listening To In December